Need advice on preparing for Instrument
 

Hello everyone,
I'm just about done with the private pilot course and entering the instrument course next semester. I would love to hear everyone's advice on what and how they were taught instrument. I'm brand new and know nothing about the charts and how to read them. I know everything I need to as a private pilot, nothing further.

I would like to have some guidance to where I should start, what I should be using, and so on... I'm trying to get a general concept and possibly the Instrument/CFII written complete before the semester begins.

Flight training is best done on several, mutually-reinforced levels at the same time. The student should have concurrent 1-on-1 ground school instruction or classroom instruction, individual flight lessons, a textbook reading assignment every day or two, a video series or CBT (computer based) lesson to watch, and in addition to that a dedicated student will seek ride-alongs with other students on their flight lessons, and if possible supplement that online at APC or another aviation website with Q&A about various things. This way so many chances are available for the student to resolve any questions or sticking points they may have, they will have a hard time getting stuck anywhere and the training will be successful. With any complex subject like flying, approaching it from multiple angles will increase your chances of getting the right presentation for you.

Awesome reply and advice! That's pretty much what a buddy of mine stated. Until classes start, I think I'll be doing some reading assignments, watching video clips, and going through the FAA Prep test for the written.

Radio and Scan
 

Two of the biggies for me were IFR Communications, and developing the instrument scan. It took a while, but eventually it all clicked.

If you're near a towered airport, pick up a scanner and listen to as much as you can - Clearance, Ground, Tower, Approach, or try one of the ATC online web sites.

I don't recall my CFII teaching the "scan" (he probably did-I was too dense). It becomes second nature at some point during the training. Making sure the 6 pack agrees (assuming steam gauges), and getting a look at the engine instruments every so often, etc


Don't fly an airplane with an ADF :)
The VOR beam is wider the further out from the station you are

FAA-H-8083 Instrument Flying Handbook. Buy, read it, refer to it often.

Keep that scan going and don't get stuck, keep moving! Stay ahead of the airplane, always thinking about what's next.

Get actual instrument time during training--the hood only works so far. You will only get proficient by being inside cold, wet clouds.

GF

During my instrument course, I did a lot of VOR hold's, DME arcs, and instrument approaches on Flight Simulator X with my Jepp charts. I would set the visibility to zero, load up a default 172 on autopilot and just practice the things by flying with the mouse and referencing my charts. I found it a lot easier to practice this in my own time then to wait and do it in an airplane with everything else going on.

Depending on whether or not your airplane has a GPS and it is a Garmin, Garmin has GPS simulators for download on their site. This helped me practice using the GPS at home becoming more proficient at entering/deleting waypoints, selecting procedures, etc.

Just a couple of the things I did...

Have fun!

Glad to hear! It's already on its way to my doorstep!

I went ahead and got the Instrument Flying Handbook plus the Instrument Prep Test.

My goal is to accomplish the written test before the semester starts which I believe will be 01/05/2015 (around there). At the very least, I will have a general understanding before classes start.

A few friends and colleagues recommended that I take the Instrument and CFII written because they are similar. Is this true?

Its been a long time since I've taken that test. At the time, the test was drawn from the same bank of questions. You just had to answer a whole lot more of them. I'm guessing that is still true. Just go with the instrument written. You will need that specific test to take the practical and why risk a failure. There is a lot of material to learn, and you will. Its great to get a head start, but don't forget you need to learn to handle the aircraft without outside reference. You will learn the relationship between pitch, power, airspeed and performance. Knowing what settings are needed for various configurations and the relationship between them are very important. Follow through and complete the task when you change configurations. Proper use of trim is also very important. You can practice this under visual conditions by yourself. Having said all that, I found the instrument rating to be one of the easier and more rewarding ones.